The Real Purpose Driven Church
D.P. Weary
April 2009
God the Father came to earth in the person of our Lord Jesus with a commandment, a purpose!
John 12:49 NASB - "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment {as to} what to say and what to speak.
As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sends us with the same purpose.
John 20:21 NASB - So Jesus said to them again, "Peace {be} with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
Jesus himself declared this purpose when He quoted Isaiah 61 in a synagogue one day. Jesus came to bring the good news of the forgiveness of sins, eternal salvation, and healing to the afflicted. He came to heal the wounds of the heart. He came to bring freedom to those that are captives and prisoners of habits, addictions and the consequences of believing lies. He came to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. He also came to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God. He came to comfort all who mourn, and to give them gladness instead of mourning and praise instead of a spirit of fainting. He did all this so that the Father may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1 NASB - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
Isaiah 61:2 NASB - To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,
Isaiah 61:3 NASB - To grant those who mourn {in} Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. The devil’s works or purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. Jesus came to bring life both here in this world, and in the world to come, eternal life. The life He brings is meaningful, fruitful, exciting, adventurous, and sometimes even dangerous. It is life in its fullest.
1John 3:8 NASB - the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
John 10:10 NASB - "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have {it} abundantly.
As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus now sends us. What He was sent to do, we are now to do. His purpose is now our purpose! The real purpose driven life and purpose driven church is one driven by Jesus’ purpose!
Before Jesus returned to His proper place in Heaven, He gave us the authority to carry on with His purpose.
Matthew 16:19 NASB - "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."
Jesus also gave us the power to carryout His purpose.
Luke 24:49 NASB - "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
Acts 1:8 NASB - but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Acts 2:1 NASB - When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
Acts 2:2 NASB - And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:3 NASB - And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
Acts 2:4 NASB - And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Jesus further clarified what He expects us to do. He expects us to go out into the world and make disciples! He expects us to baptize these disciples and to teach them His commandments and to teach them to live by these commandments.
Our purpose is to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Jesus promises to be with us as we carry on with His purpose, even to the end of the age. He is still with us today, carrying out His purpose through us.
The gospel of good news that we are to preach to the nations is that Jesus paid the price for all of our sins, that He will forgive all of our sins where there is confession and repentance for our sins. It is the good news that in Jesus we can find life and life in its fullness in this world and in the world to come (eternal life). It is the good news that we can find love, peace, hope, and even joy in the midst of all the troubles of this world in Jesus.
Matthew 28:19 NASB - "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Matthew 28:20 NASB - teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Mark 16:15 NASB - And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Luke 24:47 NASB - and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Mark 16:16 NASB - "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Note that to be saved from the condemnation that comes with sin, one must believe and be baptized.
Mark 16:17 NASB - "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
Note that signs will accompany those who have believed and they will cast out demons, and speak with new tongues!
Mark 16:20 NASB - And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.] [{And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.}
Ephesians 4:11 NASB - And He gave some {as} apostles, and some {as} prophets, and some {as} evangelists, and some {as} pastors and teachers,
Ephesians 4:12 NASB - for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
The true purpose driven life and the purpose driven church is a life and a church that is carrying out Jesus purpose, a purpose given to Him by the Father and now passed on to us. It is very clear that it is still Jesus himself carrying out the Father’s commandment, but now through His church. A purpose driven life, and a purpose driven church therefore is one that is truly indwelt by the Lord (born again), controlled by the Lord (obedient to His commandments), and empowered by the Holy Spirit (filled with the Holy Spirit).
The question we must ask ourselves is this. Are we truly born again? This requires that we truly believe in Jesus and have been baptized. Truly believing requires that we know what it is that we are to believe, which requires that we know the Word that teaches us about Jesus. So, how many people even know what they need to believe to be saved, even those that attend churches? Then how many of these really believe what is written in the Word? Then we must ask, how many of these that believe have been baptized? Then we must ask how many of these are really obedient to Jesus’ commandments? And finally, we must ask, how many of those that do believe, have been baptized, and are truly trying to live by Jesus’ commandments are empowered or filled with the Holy Spirit?
Finally we must ask ourselves is our real purpose as individuals and corporately as churches teaching the Word (teaching people what they need to believe), teaching them to obey Jesus’ commandments, baptizing them, getting them filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, then equipping them to go out themselves into the nations to preach the gospel? Are we healing the sick and wounded in body and heart? Are we delivering those in bondages? Are we proclaiming the favorable year of the Lord? Are we proclaiming the day of vengeance of our God? Are we comforting those who mourn? Are we a source of gladness instead of mourning and praise instead of heaviness? Are we destroying the works of the devil and driving out demons? Are we bringing real life and life in its fullest to people? Are we a source of love, peace, hope, and joy in the midst of a world going mad? Are we glorifying the Father?
In many ways, the churches of our day are failing the test. We must get back to the basics, back to carrying out the Father’s purpose as He gave it to Jesus, and as Jesus gave it to His true Church!
